This invention relates generally to optical communication systems and more specifically to compressing optical pulses.
In optical communication networks, the optical pulses stretch in time due to the dispersion in the optical fiber that results in distortions of the encoded information. Dispersion of a material describes the dependence of refractive index of the medium on the wavelength of the light traveling through the medium. In the case of light traveling through a waveguide, dispersion results from the dependence of the propagation constant on the wavelength of the signal and consists of material as well as geometric dispersion components. The temporal spread of the pulses due to dispersion causes successive pulses to overlap in time domain with each other, thus resulting in bit errors in the communication systems. This limits the optical fiber link length between the transmitter and the receiver ends in the network as well as the bit-rate of the communication system.
In response to pulse spreading, pulse compressors may be utilized, but these devices tend to be large table-top size devices that include long nonlinear optical fibers followed by pairs of free space diffraction gratings.
Compact and cost-effective optical pulse compressors will benefit applications in other areas as well. For example, short optical pulses are increasingly being used in medical applications such as laser surgery, industrial applications such as precise laser machining, research and development involving laser-matter interactions, defense applications, etc.
Thus, there is a need for a more reasonably sized optical pulse compressor for use in optical communication networks.